I am a Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Edgar O’Rear’s Biorheology Lab at the University of Oklahoma, with plans to defend this academic year. My dissertation research primarily focuses on hemocompatibility of blood contacting devices. Specifically, I evaluate damage to red blood cells(RBC), primarily gauging the release of extracellular vesicles(EV) as a damage marker, post exposure to the non-physiologic forces often experienced in mechanical circulatory support(MCS) devices. I have several years of industry experience at a medical device startup(VADovations Inc), working with Dr. Trevor Snyder developing a ventricular assist device(heart pump), which sparked my research interests and motivated my desire to pursue a doctorate.
Teaching Interests:
I have been mentored, taught, and inspired by many great teachers and professors throughout my life, not only on the collegiate level but also during high school. My main motivation for pursuing both my undergraduate and graduate degrees has always been the desire to positively impact individual lives, and I have always been inspired and reminded of this goal by the many great teachers in my life that left their imprint on me. While I chose to pursue my goal of having a lasting impact through biomedical research, academic life has also provided the opportunity to mentor and teach fellow peers and students across a wide range of subjects and pass down the legacy of the great teachers and professors that I had the privilege of learning from. I have found that I have profoundly enjoyed this aspect of academia. There is no greater feeling of guiding a student through a difficult concept and watching as the pieces fall into place or coming up with an alternative way of explaining something to help them understand better. I strive to help students see the logical progression of thought I use to develop solutions to problems and foster their development of that same thought process. It is my goal to help students develop a full understanding. For example, I don’t just want them to know which equation or theory to use, I want to help them understand what those equations and theories mean such that they fully know why particular equations are applicable to certain problems and at a more macroscopic level will be able to apply them to real-world scenarios.
I have had the privilege of tutoring students during my undergraduate and graduate studies in core chemical engineering courses(transport, kinetics, and thermodynamics). I believe that it is important that the student start with a strong foundation of theory, and, as such, I take the approach of asking probing questions to determine the level of a student’s understanding. I then make sure to explain the relevant theory/material, filling in any gaps the student may have. For example, I come up with creative ways, including referencing real-world scenarios, to explain complex topics such that students are equipped to apply their knowledge to complex engineering problems. It was always encouraging to hear how much I was able to help each student.
As a graduate student, I designed and conducted study sessions leading up to midterm exams for undergraduate students taking Thermodynamics(ChE 3473) and Fluid Mechanics(ChE 3113 and CEES 2223) from a variety of engineering disciplines(chemical, civil, architectural, environmental). This involved going through course material and putting together relevant practice problem sets. These sessions were particularly successful with multiple students reaching out to tell me how much these helped them in their course work. I have also had the privilege of training and mentoring many undergraduates while working towards my doctorate. As in my tutoring experiences, I believe it is important in the lab and in the classroom to start with a strong foundation in theory and then apply that theory to hands-on experience and real-world problems. For the undergraduates I train, I always take the time to explain the motivation for the project and the basic theories being applied before we dive into the actual methodologies of their specific project. I test their knowledge through observation of their work as well as orally by having them explain the theory and/or procedural steps. I will often have them observe and take notes of me demonstrating a particular technique and have them write up the procedure as homework. For both the students I have tutored as well as the undergraduate researchers I have trained and mentored, I always encourage them to ask any and all questions and make it clear that I am always there to help and want them to succeed. I believe it is important to establish that kind of positive helpful relationship with students rather than come across as intimidating. It is my goal to be an approachable teacher. It has been encouraging to see many of these students go on to pursue graduate degrees(master, PhD, medical school, etc.) or go on to have successful corporate experiences.
Given my experience and background, I am comfortable teaching any undergraduate core chemical engineering courses(transport, kinetics, thermodynamics) although I am particularly interested in teaching transport phenomena or fluid mechanics at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I also have extensive experience in medical device research with several years’ experience working at a medical device startup and extensive experience with flow cytometry and would be interested in developing courses related to these topics. I am interested in developing an elective course tentatively named “Biological Transport”. This course will train students in solving complex interdisciplinary transport problems pertaining to biological systems. I am also interested in developing other relevant courses. One would be in the domain of medical device development, which would include topics such as biomedical device design, instrumentation, FDA regulatory process, quality control and experimental approaches to testing. I am also well suited to develop a course on the application, design, and fabrication of microfluidic devices. Lastly, with my extensive experience with flow cytometry I would like to develop a course discussing the many different types of cytometry(conventional, spectral, nanoscale, FACs, imaging, etc.), their utility/application, the theory behind flow cytometry, panel design, and data analysis. For any of these courses I plan to incorporate demonstrations as well as hands-on projects, so the students have the opportunity to apply what they are learning.
Research Interests:
My main research interests and expertise are in hemocompatibility of blood contacting devices, primarily regarding the fluid mechanics of said devices and monitoring the effects of fluid mechanics(i.e. non-physiological levels of fluid stress) on blood components to identify potential diagnostic and predictive biomarkers, primarily through monitoring extracellular vesicle(EV) release. I have a solid understanding and foundation in fluid mechanics and am interested in applying that knowledge across a wide variety of fields including medical device development, microfluidic design/fabrication, and bioreactor improvement among others. In my future lab, I’m interested in further exploring the effects of fluid stresses on a variety of cell types by designing and modeling microfluidic devices as well as employing other rheological methods and monitoring the effects through flow cytometric panel design.
From my dissertation work, it is clear that there has been a lack of study on the effects of extensional stresses on cells in general and therefore a lack of comparison studies evaluating both shear and extension. My past work has focused on the effects to RBCs, specifically the release of EVs due to supraphysiologic stresses. In my future lab, some of my first projects would be evaluating the effect of extensional stress in comparison to shear on platelet activation(P-selectin and Annexin V expression and EV release), and dysfunction(shedding of GPIbα and GPVI). This would of course have implications in the design/development of MCS, other blood contacting devices, and further understanding of stenosis effects. Results could go on to inform physicians about coagulopathy treatment. Utilizing my fluid mechanics knowledge, I will use varying types of flow contractions and design microfluidic devices(cross-flow and hyperbolic converging) to examine the effects of extensional stresses compared to shear on platelet activation/dysfunction. After establishing reliable means of exposing cells to different stress type and fluid flows, future work would include examining the effect of stress type on leukocyte activation/death, and von Willebrand factor activation/degradation. I would be interested in also expanding to even broader research endeavors in the realm of stem cell differentiation under different flow environments, and the use of stress type for harvesting cellular products.
I have extensive laboratory experience and am adept in the following skills/techniques: flow cytometry panel design/development and analysis(several years experience), design of experiments(DOE), rheometry, nanoparticle tracking analysis, microscopy(light and SEM), python, R, mathematical modeling and design of microfluidic devices, statistics and data analysis, and a variety of biologic assays(e.g. hemoglobin, lactase dehydrogenase, thrombin generation). I have supervised and trained undergraduate and other graduate students in their research using many of these methods.
Conclusion:
In summary, I am a highly motivated, well-trained engineer and scientist with years of experience in academia and industry who possesses a deep desire to educate/train the next generation of engineers and contribute to society at large with meaningful research.